Shortbread Cookies

Here by popular demand (okay, only Karen asked, but she's popular!) I offer up my Ridiculously Simple Shortbread Cookie Recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt (totally optional, I usually forget it)

1 tsp TrueLemon (crystallized lemon juice, yum, optional)

Tools:

A mixer (hand or stand)

a sieve

a large glass or metal mixing bowl

a rolling pin

oven mitt and cookie sheets or jelly roll pans

a sharp knife

a fork

spatula

The process:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Cream the butter and sugar really well. In the words of Devo, Whip it Good. Get a good bit of air into the mix.

Then sift the flour (and salt and powdered lemon, if using) in a little at a time. It will be a little coarse at the beginning, just keep mixing and it will come together.

When thourougly mixed, dump out onto a well-floured clean surface. Gently roll out to about 1/2 inch thick, in as close to a rectangle as you can manage. This is a very soft dough, so you just need to push the rolling pin across the surface, rather than push down on the dough. If you do not have a rolling pin, you can just pat it into shape with your hands.

Cut into sticks approx 1/2 inch wide by 2 inch long. Prick a row in the top with tines of a fork.

Transfer sticks to ungreased baking sheets, approx 1/2 inch apart. Load into oven and immediately turn temp down to 275 degrees Farenheit. Bake for 25-30 minutes (check after 20 if your oven is not too reliable), remove when they are a very pale golden.

Cool on wire racks.

Makes approx 3.5 dozen. Enjoy with a copy of tea.

I am sorry I do not have a photo of the finished cookies, but I have eaten them all.